Neonatal screening of hypothyroidism must: Doctor

Prevalence of hypothyroidism in the world is 1 neonatal per 3000, while as per the study conducted by Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, it is prevalent in 1 neonatal per 1172 in India,” said endocrinologist Dr Pramod Gandhi.TNN | July 03, 2017, 17:05 IST

NAGPUR: “Hypothyroidism, if left untreated at the neonatal stage, has the potential to make the patient mentally challenged for the rest of his/her life. Prevalence of hypothyroidism in the world is 1 neonatal per 3000, while as per the study conducted by Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, it is prevalent in 1 neonatal per 1172 in India,” said endocrinologist Dr Pramod Gandhi.

He was delivering the presidential oration titled ‘Hypothyroidism in pregnancy — Importance of neonatal screening’, after the installation ceremony of the new body of the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) at a city hotel on Sunday.

He added, “The reason for high prevalence of hypothyroidism is still unknown. Screening within two to five days of birth is the only way to know if the child carries hypothyroidism and begin treatment early. While neonatal screening for congenital hypothyroidism is mandatory in most of the western countries, in India we don’t have such a law. Neonatal screening of hypothyroidism is one of the most important ways of preventing preventable mental retardation in the world.”

Dr Gandhi who is from Gandhi Hospital, Ramdaspeth further said, “At our centre we have screened about 604 new borns in the span of five years. Out of these, four babies had overt hypothyroidism and five of them had sub-clinical hypothyroidism. Their treatment began immediately.”

Along with Dr Gandhi as the new president, Dr Rajesh Atal was sworn in as the new secretary. Dr Nalini Shah, professor and head of the department of endocrinology, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, and Dr Manoj Chaddha, president elect of the Endocrine Society of India were the guests on the occasion.

The oration was followed by a CME where Dr Shah spoke on ‘Secondary diabetes: Perspective beyond the usual’. A public awareness session based on the theme ‘Doctor tell me about thyroid diseases’ was also organized by AMS in coordination with Sakhi Manch and Nagpur Zilha Maheshwari Mahila Sanghtan.

With immense pride “India Live” celebrated its 10th national conference in Mumbai from 28th February to 3rd March 2019. The conference turned out to be a gold mine of information, with emphasis on academics, education and exchange of knowledge with leaders in interventional cardiology from both India and abroad.